Ordinary
by lilyroxmysox03
Summary: Serena never noticed him before. Dan’s skinny physique, pale skin, shaking hands from instant coffee and the occasional cigarette, boring, black hair, boring brown eyes. Ordinary. DxS Oneshot. Their relationship through 6 stages.


_Ordinary_

* * *

_Another Derena oneshot. Sorry if it's short._

* * *

-O-

Serena never noticed him before. Dan's skinny physique, pale skin, shaking hands from instant coffee and the occasional cigarette, boring, black hair, boring brown eyes.

Ordinary.

Not at all like the rugged and handsome Nate, his golden hair catching the sunlight when it fell into his emerald eyes, his yellow eyelashes fluttering. He would make a beautiful girl.

Extraordinary.

But when Serena laid her equally stunning green eyes on Dan, her body tingled slightly, her stomach dropping, shielding her eyes from the Sun to get a better look at the guy. She must've looked weird, her shoulders scrunched against her ears, squinting eyes. But she didn't care. He looked out of place, muttering flustered apologies to big and burly guys pushing him around.

"Serena!" Blair's commanding high voice reverberating against the red brick walls, covered with ivy. "Hey, blondie, you need a whistle, or something? Let's go, tons of girls to conquer, not enough shoes. I can't believe I'm still on the waiting list for those new Mui Muis."

When she turned around, Serena saw the wonderful Nate, _her_ Nate. Currently walking towards…Blair. "Natie!" Blair squealed, and her minions all laughed politely, all the while shooting daggers towards Blair's back. Serena immediately forgot about…what's his name? See, point proven.

Still, the image of the bumbling, socially awkward Daniel Humphrey was registered into her brain. Although, granted, was put in the dusty file of 'Irrelevant Thoughts', such as a brief wanting for vanilla and cinnamon oatmeal, or the fact that she forgot to tell her maid to buy tampons. At least he managed to worm into her brain, quite the accomplishment.

Yeah, right.

-R-

When she first kissed him, at the end of their first date, she felt almost guilty, the thought of Nate once again creeping into her mind. Still, she forced herself to press her lips even more so onto his thin, inexperienced lips, his hands hovering over her hips, afraid to touch her much, afraid to do anything, really.

She pulled away first, desperate for air. Dan looked like he was about to faint. She smiled tentatively, intimidated by him, although they were almost the same height. She longed to be in a warm bed, eating champagne dipped strawberries, watching reruns of Dawson's Creek. But she found herself with a guy she barely knew, standing awkwardly facing each other, the dirty concrete and taxis emitting foul smelling poufs of black smoke. This never would've happened if she was out with Natie. Or maybe she wouldn't have noticed.

He was close. Very close. Very close, _indeed_.

Another kiss?! Was he crazy? No! She wanted to scream. That was a pity kiss, just then! Not another one!

But he did, again, with the hovering thing. She barely felt anything, yet her eyelids slid close involuntarily, her mouth parting slightly, her wrists buzzing unfamiliarly. Why would anyone's wrist buzz? Well, they buzzed alright. They buzzed like crazy. She didn't know if it was an omen, or if it was a sign, that they would be together happily, for a long time.

Oh, Serena.

-D-

They were walking in Central Park, starting from the point of where the Plaza Hotel was, and Serena looked blankly at the green water, dotted with moss and lotus flowers, the ducks floating on top. Dan was rambling on about the summary he had to write for The Odyssey, and how Poseidon was a controlling tyrant, always trying to foil Ulysses' plans.

Serena looked at him every once in a while, nodding and making small noises, pretending to listen to him, but really was thinking about ways to get Nate on his own. She decided a little earlier that from the one year she was absent, Blair and Nate had made a good relationship with each other, and she was not to meddle with it. But she had to talk to Nate _one_ more time, just once more.

At first, she felt bad, always saying yes to Dan's calls of going out to walk, eat, touring NBC studios, as if Serena weren't a native and had already done so much more site seeing than that of Dan, but she was home alone most of the time, with Eric still in Orffman's Rehabilitation Centre and her mother always in Brooklyn, spending her time in a small art gallery. Besides, they were just friends, right? And that's why they always ended these outings with a peck on the cheek.

They had reached the point where the horses had treaded, and it smelt awful. "Ew," Serena giggled, adorably pinching her nose with two of her manicured fingers.

Dan laughed, roughly running his pale hand through his hair, the cowlick from the morning still stubbornly sticking out. "Hey, want to go to the fountain?" He pointed down the two flights of steps, down to where the angel with the trumpet was, the water flowing from the mouth of the instrument.

Serena looked at Dan quizzically. "…Okay." She ran down the steps, carefree, her Milly patio dress rippling back, resisting the slight wind. Dan met her at the fountain, and sat down at the edge of it, where other people were just listening to the saxophonist playing a few feet away, or writing.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Dan commented, looking briefly at Serena. So far, he was trying to gather what little bit of confidence he still had left to look Serena in the eye when he talked to her.

Serena turned to look at him, briefly too. "…yeah. It's…nice." She giggled again, attempting to lift the strain from the conversation. They were just so…different. They practically had nothing in common. His pinky rested on hers, apparently unaware of how Serena noticed. She didn't move away, not because she wanted to. She really didn't care. In fact, it was kind of nice, having some kind of physical support from anyone these days.

This relationship was different from anyone that she had had. Family ties, to, of course, family, and mutual, for friends. Romantic, for lovers. Dan? She had no idea who he was, relationship wise. Friend?...Boyfriend? Of course, it didn't matter, as long as you had a good time with them. But it would be nice to have some reassurance. And she was having a good time. Really.

-I-

They went to see a movie.

Dan held the door open for her and everything. It was one of those places where they show the Golden Era movies, with Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, or Elizabeth Taylor. In the end, Serena chose To Catch a Thief, as Grace Kelly was something to be envied. She remembered the time when she was in Macau, and her mother went to the casinos, leaving her children alone. Serena forced Eric to be Cary Grant and solve pretend mysteries around the house, interrogating the maid, searching frantically through their carefully packed luggage for hidden loot.

"I love Grace Kelly. Can you believe she died from running off a cliff side road?!" She whispered into his ear as they were seated in the middle of the upper seats.

Dan chuckled; slightly surprised Serena's hair still glistened even without the help of the sunlight shining outside. "Yeah."

Serena hit his arm jokingly, knowing he didn't care for mini biography speeches by Serena. "Thanks for your enthusiasm."

At one point during the movie, where Cary and Grace were on the motor boat, being chased by some men in suits, Dan yawned, seemingly bored by the gunshots on screen. His arm raised high in the air, Serena's eyes whizzed in their sockets as they lowered ever so slowly over her shoulder, at least until the guy behind them kicked Dan's seat.

"Hey, jerk. Your arm's blocking the way!"

Serena tried with all her might to not move a muscle in her face, but she guffawed anyway, suppressing them by stuffing her knuckles in her mouth. Dan got up abruptly, clearly embarrassed, and told Serena he needed some air, wherein Serena accompanied him, laughing all the way outside.

They saw green, pink and white, blinded momentarily by the sunlight, a sudden contrast with the dark movie theatre. Serena was still laughing uncontrollably. "Oh, Dan!" She said breathlessly between giggles. "Dan."

Dan looks at her doubling over by his action, and soon he finds himself laughing at his stupidity too. They hold each other for support, barely noticing the surprised glances by strangers, hurrying by, away from the two lunatics.

After wiping their eyes and catching their breath, they headed back to their movie, finding all sorts of funny things in the movie after. It was a miracle nobody asked them to leave.

"He looks like he has a boner there! Clever, he's wearing woman's clothes." Dan chortled, as Serena clutched at his arm, unable to form words with her mouth.

She found herself having fun, as in _real_ fun, for the first time in a long time. Next to Dan, she found it almost unbelievable. If she were to go back in time, and tell her own self she was to hang out with a guy from Brooklyn, who smoked unfiltered Camels every last Thursday of every month, at exactly 7:00pm, when he would watch Star Trek on the Space channel, or a dramedy on Bravo!. No, the old self would say. Why would I hang out with that guy?! But, Serena found herself with Daniel Humphrey in a dark movie theatre, watching [boy actor] dress in pink silk-complete with a feather-fight a cat burglar.

How times change.

-N-

Over the months, Serena finds herself liking Dan back. Just a little, though. Not a lot. Just a little. The way he weaves himself in and out of literary quotes, whether he realizes or not. A literature buff, who thinks The Little Prince has some secret French war code, which Dan has been trying to figure out since he was fourteen. He refuses to drink anything from Starbucks, saying he would rather fight against communism. "What happened to small, family owned coffee shops?!" He would rant, often scaring passersby on the street. Serena would bury her head in her hands, embarrassed in a cute couple-y sort of way. Even though they did kiss occasionally, Serena still didn't feel ready to be a couple. Yes, the reader might think that Serena might be leading Dan on, but they didn't have the couple talk, so technically, they were still individuals, bound together by…friendship. Yeah, friendship.

"So," Serena commented, sipping a normal cup of joe out of a nondescript semi-recycled cup, bought at Le Petit Geant. "What do you have in store for me today, monsieur?" She giggled at the foam mustache on Dan's upper lip, wiping it off for him with a napkin.

"Ah, je ne sais pas, ma cherie. Nous avons ou le vent nous mene." Dan concluded, hoping what he said made sense. He didn't really pay attention in French class much, as he hated the French-except for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, of course. Oh, and Andre Gide.

Serena smiled genuinely. She was definitely over Nate, seeing as she always knew they were too beautifully tragic to survive together in reality. So perfect, it had to be shattered in real life, otherwise they never would've woken up and gone on with their own paths, their own lives. Dan was ordinary, not extraordinary, so she felt that it was easier to breathe with him there, not needing to compete and show him up. She didn't have to prove herself, she was…Serena.

As they were walking, inhaling the cold, crisp and refreshing autumn wind, Serena realized that Dan was probably one of the most reassuring people she had met in a long time. He was the one that could fire off a thousand statistics of airplane safety if you were afraid of crashing, warn you about eating raw tuna in sushi bars, hum while rubbing your back, lulling you to sleep.

However, Serena didn't feel romantically involved with him, however much he liked her. Or maybe she just couldn't tell.

Figures.

-A-

Serena was slightly drunk. She got a letter from Carter, and the stamp was from Greece. He wrote that he saw her father before he was escorted out from the restaurant. Serena then proceeded to drink a couple of glasses of Blue Hawaiians. She remembered the oath that every cool ninth grader took at the beginning of the year. They were allowed to wear things over their school uniforms, unlike the young ones, and they didn't have to wear Mary Jane loafers anymore. They promised that they would always have Blue Hawaiians with champagne dipped strawberries and in college when they were older, Bloody Marys with celery and dusted truffles.

Dan opened the door to a reeking Serena, with a few buttons on her blouse missing, hair disheveled, and no purse. "God, Serena, what happened? Are you hurt?" Dan hurriedly pulled her out of the hallway, thankful that Rufus was at an anarchist's meeting, and Jenny at Matilde's house.

Serena gurgled, and Dan sighed. "Serena, you need to take better care of yourself. Sit." He pushed her roughly down onto the sofa, and quickly went to get a bucket.

Serena peered around the Humphrey house. It was littered with things that needed to be thrown out, but wasn't. Overflowing wastebaskets, scratched records, an old red wagon, a recollection from Dan and Jenny's childhood, a pile of ticket stubs, decks of cards missing cards all on the wall to wall bookshelf. Most of all, records and CDs. She peered at the movie posters, and squinted. Wow. It was Dan's dad, in all of his young and cool glory, complete with a leather necklace and ponytail. It was black and white, his eyebrows pulled together in frustration, wanting to express his thoughts through singing. It reminded her of Dan, except he wrote stories and poems instead.

Dan come back with the basket, and set it down next to her feet. "Where were you?" He asked, concerned.

"Drunken Yodeler." Serena managed to choke out. Her tongue felt like lead, her head too big for her body.

"Drunken Yodeler-you do know that's where all the middle aged stockbrokers hang out, right? Why would you go there?" Dan sighed gruffly, and started rubbing her back. "It's okay. You tell me if you want to go home, alright?"

Serena just closed her eyes. Her father didn't want anything to do with his family. Right. Fuck him. She was with Dan. That was enough. She nodded.

"Okay."

-R-

This time when she kissed him, she was no longer thinking about Nate. Pressed against a brick wall, she was thinking about the ugly marks that would appear on her back. "Ow, brick, not comfortable." She giggled, running her slender hand through his hair.

"Let's switch." They did, and Dan smiled against her lips. "Yeah, not comfortable at all.

Then they saw a flash.

Dan sighed. Kati and Is. Again. Why must they feel the need to follow Serena around all the time? He was thankful that Serena told them to go away. This was his time with her.

Serena felt giddy and excited, the way she felt when she was swirling around on the bar table, in front of Nate. Except this time, she felt safe. Romping around under the sheets with Nate while right outside the oak doors, there stood Blair, her best friend, waiting anxiously for Nate. No, kissing Dan was way safer, and not as wet.

She was sure that she liked him now. How he subconsciously reached out his hand right when she was about to trip over something-yet again-or how he knew to buy a tall, decaf, low-fat, light-creamed, sugar-free, peppermint vanilla mocha frappucino from Starbucks on a particularly bad day. Yeah. She liked him alright.

"What is it?" Dan whispered hoarsely, hormones working furiously. She realized she was smiling too much to be kissing.

"Nothing. It feels…natural, y'know? Being together." Serena replied quietly. She didn't want to scare him away.

Dan smiled. He made her happy. He could take pride in that. He pulled her closer, and planted a small peck on her forehead. "It does. Being together."

Serena breathed in his scent, fresh soap and coffee.

Natural.

She liked that.

-Y-

When she expressed her worries and wishes, Serena feared Dan would hop out of the bed and leave. Granted, it was his house, but still. Instead, he kissed her tenderly and hugged her. She never knew that boys could resist from having sex, especially if they were both naked and in bed. She thought the reason why she liked Dan was because he was ordinary. Normal. He kept her at a steady pace, grounded. His skinny bones didn't hide the fact that he was stronger than ever, his brown eyes shining and cautious, thin lips quivering against hers, protective and a lover. She felt contained, in a good way, able to hide femininely behind him, while he fought her battles for her, quickly throwing Shakespearean insults at them along the way. Heck, she even found Star Trek kind of interesting.

"Dan," She whispered, curling up in his arms.

"Hmm?"

"You're so ordinary."

Dan chuckled. "I hope that was a compliment."

Serena smiled against his chest. Yes, he was ordinary. And she found it an extraordinary miracle that someone like him walked into her hectic life, to slow time, and suspend both of them amongst the stars, living life like it should be lived.

**fin.**

**A/N~**_So yeah. Another Derena oneshot. I really love and miss them together. What will the writers do?!? I don't want Lufus to go away either! Ugh...what a dilemma._


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